Delphine shook her head. ‘They live in a good house and we had warning. They will be safe, and my brother lives nearby. I’d have had a message by now if all was not well. I’ll go and visit when the roads are clearer.’ She paused. ‘Come, let’s look at the sunset. See if we can see the Emerald Drop, or the Green Flash, as they call it.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Cass, following Delphine on to the veranda.
Austin prepared to speak. He was sitting in a wooden chair designed for lounging in. He had a drink in a glass resting on the arm and had the air of someone on holiday.
‘It’s when the sun sets and the blue and violet lights are scattered by the atmosphere, and the red, orange and yellow lights are absorbed. During the last few seconds before the sun goes, the green light is the most visible,’ he said to no one in particular.
Delphine shrugged off this scientific description.‘That’s it. I have seen it, but only once. I don’t usually have time to look for it. It’s over so soon.’
But although she watched intently, Cass saw nothing except the sun dropping into the sea.
The darkness followed very quickly and soon they were bathed in warm, soft air full of the sound of crickets and frogs and other unidentifiable creatures, all intent on making their nocturnal music. How had they fared during the hurricane?, Cass wondered.
‘Oh my goodness,’ she said moments later, looking up. ‘Look at the stars!’ She watched the stars appear, one at a time at first and then in clusters. ‘They are so bright! It’s amazing!’
‘They are pretty,’ said Delphine, who reappeared at that moment, carrying some dishes. She was obviously more accustomed to a night sky dotted with diamonds than Cass was.
‘I must try and take a picture for my father,’ said Cass. But she wondered how well the picture would turn out and so didn’t fetch the camera.
The two women went back into the kitchen. ‘I didn’t know that one was staying,’ said Delphine, leaving Cass in no doubt who she was talking about. ‘Bastian is too kind. Takes everyone in! It’s fine if they need shelter, but that one has been ordering me about, treating me like a servant.’ She laughed. ‘I keep the house running, but I’m not running around after Bastian’s guests too!’
Shortly afterwards Bastian came in, Ranulph and a couple of other men following. Ranulph came straight over to Cass and gave her a one-armed hug. ‘How have you been?’
Cass found her heart lift as she felt his warmth around her. They’d hardly been on touching terms – a peck on the cheek had been as far as it had gone – but this embrace was very welcome.
‘Fine. Busy. Getting in Delphine’s way.’
‘Not at all!’ said Delphine. ‘You’re useful. You can chop and peel. Now, let’s get the food out. People are hungry!’
‘I certainly am,’ said Ranulph. ‘I’ll just wash a bit of the soil off me.’
Cass was glad to see Delphine sitting at the table with everyone else although it was she who got up and fetched hot sauce or water, or sliced bananas.
‘This is delicious,’ said Ranulph. ‘I wasn’t expecting freshly cooked food after a hurricane.’
‘We had stores handy,’ explained Delphine. ‘We’ve been through hurricanes before.’
‘I never thought kidney beans could be so tasty,’ Ranulph went on. Then he coughed and took a sip of water. ‘The sauce is hot though, isn’t it?’
‘Simple, peasant fare,’ said Austin. ‘Nourishing if not exactly gourmet.’
While Cass couldn’t quite decide if he’d been massively insulting or not, she found she was taking offence anyway.
‘What’s the plan for tomorrow?’ said Ranulph.
‘I’m anxious to get on and look for this petroglyph,’ said Austin. ‘I don’t personally believe it’s there, but I feel obliged to search for it.’
Cass was astonished by this. It seemed that Austin was there on the same mission as she and Ranulph were.
Bastian didn’t seem surprised. They must have been talking about it when Cass was in the kitchen. ‘My father was convinced of it,’ said Bastian. ‘So it’s there.’
‘But surely there’s just been a hurricane,’ said Cass to Austin. ‘Surely you don’t want to be doing …’ She paused as she tried to remember how he’d described himself, ‘… anthropology and archaeology in the middle of an emergency.’
‘I was on my way here anyway,’ said Austin. ‘I decided not to let the hurricane stop me.’
There was an awkward pause.
‘Have some more plantain,’ said Delphine, holding out a dish. Cass helped herself, glad Austin hadn’t questioned her in exchange.
